Zhang Jianyu is an Executive Director of the BRI Green Development Institute, which is affiliated with the BRI International Green Development Coalition (BRIGC), the first China-based international environmental NGO and a high-level international think tank.  Zhang is the Senior Advisor at the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) and he is well-known for his leadership in the establishment of China’s Carbon Trading System – the largest in the world. Between 1999 and 2021, Zhang has worked at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), a leading U.S. environmental NGO and advocacy group that uses market-based instruments to solve environmental problems in China. Zhang also helped found and manage the first professional Joint Venture environmental consulting firm in China.  He served as China project manager for the Air and Waste Management Association (AWMA) implementing the first Sino-US environmental cooperation projects from 1998 to 1999.

Zhang is a Fellow of the prestigious Aspen China Fellowship program and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.  He has served as board directors of China-based publicly traded companies and advisory board members of Fortune 500 companies.  Zhang is an executive board director of CANGO (China Association for International NGO Cooperation).